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Chinese drama students rehearse their play in Storyville: Fame In China (Picture: The Central Academy of Drama)

The world seemed a little smaller after watching Storyville: Fame In China (BBC4).

On the surface a straightforward look at young Chinese drama students getting to grips with the challenge of mounting a Broadway musical, Hao Wu’s sensitive documentary was a snapshot of a nation at a key point in its cultural history.

Watching the likes of ambitious Chen Lei and devil-may-care Fei belt out Fame’s show-stopping numbers in a bid to land big parts, there was no doubting their talent. But it seemed like yet another step in making every nation sing to the same tune. A theatrical version of every high street having a McDonald’s. Forget high street, make that shopping mall.

Another strand to the story was the impact China’s one-child policy, introduced in 1979 in an effort to curb population growth, has had on the first generation to have experienced it. ‘Four grandparents, two parents… six pairs of eyes on every child,’ was how drama teacher Hongmei summed up the pressure on her students to succeed.

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The flip-side was that this was China’s first generation of spoilt kids, with many leading lifestyles unimaginable two decades ago. One student, Zhang Xiao, showed us round the apartment his music biz dad had bought him, proudly showing off his ever-growing collection of designer trainers. It was like watching an episode of MTV’s cribs.

Zhang Xiao landed a top part in Fame and there were dark mutterings that this was less down to talent, more down to his background. ‘China is a society built on connections,’ offered his dad, opaquely, and here was more small-world evidence: China is just the same as everywhere else.